Xiang Yu, as the main force in the battle to destroy Qin, divided the princes of the world after the war, and it seemed that the distribution of power was reasonable and fair. However, why were these feudal princes dissatisfied with Xiang Yu's separation, which eventually led to the fall of Xiang Yu's dynasty? The reasons behind this are puzzling, let's find out.
The injustice of Xiang Yu's separation
Those who have high merit were given a cold reception, which was the biggest mistake of Xiang Yu's separation. In the battle to destroy Qin, Tian Rong can be said to have made great achievements, he not only personally led the army to attack the Qin army, but also rescued Xiang Liang at a critical moment, so that the Xiang army was not surrounded by the Qin army. However, Xiang Yu had a personal grudge against Tian Rong, thinking that he would not save Xiang Liang when he saw death, so when he was divided, not only did he not reward Tian Rong, but completely excluded him.
This kind of treatment naturally made Tian Rong very angry, and he took the lead in raising troops against Xiang Yu in a fit of anger. At that time, Xiang Yu had just divided the princes, and Tian Rong's rebellion was undoubtedly a major challenge to Xiang Yu's authority. What's more, Tian Rong not only rebelled himself, but also entangled Chen Yu and Peng Yue, who were also not rewarded, and the three formed an alliance in Qidi to fight against Xiang Yu.
Xiang Yu faced the rebellion of Tian Rong and others, and hurriedly dispatched troops to quell the rebellion. However, due to personal grievances that affected the decision to divide the feud, Xiang Yu failed to balance the strength of all parties, resulting in the strength of Tian Rong and others being far beyond the strength of Xiang Jun. In the battle of Qidi, Xiang's army was defeated and retreated, and Tian Rong even attacked Pengcheng, causing Xiang Yu's new capital to fall into a siege.
In the face of Tian Rong's fierce attack, Xiang Yu had to personally lead the troops to expel him, but at this moment, another rebel army from the northwest hit Xiang Yu again. It turned out that when Xiang Yu divided the princes, although he sealed Liu Bang, the king of Han, in a remote place, it did not completely disintegrate Liu Bang's strength. On the contrary, most of Liu Bang's subordinates were not rewarded, so they became more united and became a powerful army.
New elements for the princes
In addition to the cold reception of Tian Rong and others, Xiang Yu also made other serious mistakes when dividing the princes, which further aggravated the contradictions with the princes.
First, Xiang Yu was overly guarded against his subordinates, which caused dissatisfaction. Taking Liu Bang as an example, Xiang Yu not only sealed him in a remote place, but also installed his cronies and generals who could restrain him in all directions, such as Yingbu was sealed to the east of Liu Bang. Xiang Yu's approach was undoubtedly a precautionary measure, but it also made Liu Bang feel a great distrust, which deepened his dissatisfaction with Xiang Yu.
Second, Xiang Yu also had omissions in the division of the seal, and some of the generals who had made meritorious contributions were not rewarded. For example, Liu Bang's henchmen and descendants can be said to have made great contributions in the battle to destroy Qin, but Xiang Yu did not reward them heavily, which naturally made Liu Bang's soldiers feel aggrieved and strengthened their determination to oppose Xiang Yu.
Moreover, Xiang Yu's treatment of King Chu Huai is also incomprehensible. Although King Chu Huai was only a nominal co-leader, he still had a certain prestige and status at that time. However, Xiang Yu not only moved him to Hunan, but also arranged for people to closely monitor his every move, for fear that he would rebel in the future. This practice was undoubtedly an insult to King Chu Huai, and it also made his position among the princes even more embarrassing.
Xiang Yu's various misdecisions in these decisions, coupled with the early rebellion of Tian Rong and others, made the dissatisfaction of the princes of the world with him accumulate to a critical point. At this juncture, Liu Bang once again raised troops against Xiang Yu in Guanzhong, which ignited the fuse for the fall of Xiang Yu's dynasty.
Liu Bang's dissatisfaction and rebellion
When Xiang Yu divided the princes, Liu Bang was undoubtedly the most dissatisfied one. As another outstanding achievement in the battle to destroy Qin, Liu Bang was expected to get a share of a rich land, but Xiang Yu sealed him in the remote Guanzhong, located in the northwest and in a barren environment.
Such a division naturally made Liu Bang very angry. According to the proposal of King Chu Huai at that time, "the first to enter the customs should be the king". And Liu Bang was the first person to enter Hangu Pass, and he deserved the best fief in the world. But Xiang Yu not only did not do this, but instead sent Liu Bang into the poor countryside, which made Liu Bang very dissatisfied.
What's more, Xiang Yu not only sealed Liu Bang himself in a desolate place, but even Liu Bang's cronies were not rewarded. In the battle to destroy Qin, Liu Bang's henchmen and descendants can be said to have made great contributions, but Xiang Yu did not reward them, which naturally made them feel aggrieved and strengthened their determination to oppose Xiang Yu.
In addition to not receiving the expected fief and his subordinates not being rewarded, Liu Bang was even more worried that Xiang Yu would further suppress his strength. In fact, when Xiang Yu divided Liu Bang, he deliberately installed his cronies in his east, west, north and south to restrain him, and Ru Yingbu was sealed to the east of Liu Bang. This over-precautionary approach undoubtedly made Liu Bang feel great distrust, which deepened his dissatisfaction with Xiang Yu.
Just when Liu Bang was holding a grudge, Tian Rong and the others had already rebelled in Qidi. This was undoubtedly an excellent opportunity, and Liu Bang took the opportunity to raise troops in Guanzhong in response, thus igniting the fuse for the fall of the Xiang Yu dynasty. For a time, the princes of the world rose up against Xiang Yu, and Xiang Yu's dominance was in jeopardy.
The situation got out of control, and the princes rebelled
After Liu Bang raised troops in Guanzhong, the world was in turmoil, and Xiang Yu's dominance was in jeopardy. For a time, many princes who were dissatisfied with the division of the feud responded one after another, forming a surging wave of anti-Xiang Yu.
The first to join Liu Bang's camp was the alliance formed by Tian Rong, Chen Yu, and Peng Yue in Qidi. They were already worried about Xiang Yu's decision to divide the seal, but now that they saw Liu Bang taking the lead, they naturally struck while the iron was hot and led the crowd to defect to Liu Bang.
Soon, more princes also rose up against Xiang Yu. Han Xin, the king of Han, was originally Xiang Yu's confidant, but he held a grudge because he had been detained for many years, and this time he didn't say a word, and directly led the South Korean army to join the ranks against Xiang Yu.
In addition, Wei Bao, the king of Wei, Shenyang, the king of Henan, Zhao Xie, the acting king, and others also took the opportunity to raise troops and join forces with Liu Bang against Xiang Yu. It can be said that at that time, among the princes of the world, except for a few cronies who were still loyal to Xiang Yu, the vast majority of them had turned against each other and became Liu Bang's allies.
In the face of such a grim situation, Xiang Yu was naturally not to be outdone. He personally commanded the army and successively attacked Tian Rong, Liu Bang and other rebel armies, but he was defeated repeatedly and could not turn the tide of the war at all. What's more, Xiang Yu's base of Pengcheng was besieged by Tian Rong and fell into a heavy siege.
At this juncture, Xiang Yu's henchman Yingbu also betrayed him and supported his troops to take refuge in Liu Bang. Yingbu not only handed over all the troops to Liu Bang, but also revealed Xiang Yu's whereabouts and deployment, which greatly damaged Xiang Yu's vitality.
From then on, Xiang Yu's rule was completely untenable. The princes raised troops to oppose one after another, causing Xiang Yu's army to be attacked on all sides and retreated. In the end, Xiang Yu completely lost the battle of Wujiang and was forced to commit suicide in Wujiang, thus ending his short-term hegemony.